review via destructive-music 7.5/10 by spyros stasis German psychedelic stoner/doom outfit, Obelyskkh, are surely keeping themselves busy. Since their debut album, Mount Nysa, came out in 2011, they release one full-length each year. So after their sophomore album, White Lightnin’, the band returns with their third record, entitled Hymn To Pan. Obelyskkh do not rush in this album, they let their songs slowly unfold, taking their time and emitting psychedelic toxins along the way. From the title track, which introduces the album, Obelyskkh make sure you get a good idea of what you are going to find deep within the core of Hymn To Pan. The heavy riffs and great groove of the song lay down the foundations while the band is expanding their horizons with the unearthly melodies. The haunting vocals fit the band’s music perfectly, while the inclusion of synths and effects is opening up new dimensions into the intoxicating realms of Obelyskkh. The stoner rock and doom metal merge beautifully, setting the tone of the album. Especially in tracks such as “Horse”, offering a healthy dose of stonerized doom riffs, and in “Heavens Architrave”, where the band is exploring and further expanding their structured soundscapes, accompanied by an immense vocal performance. An interesting twist awaits you with “The Ravens”. Even though the track starts off with the typical stoner/doom riffs, Obelyskkh soon revert from that path. Instead the song starts to adapt a more epic outlook and attitude with the inclusion of the keyboards, synths and effects giving more room for the ambiance to be built. The switch of perception works perfectly, offering an unexpected surprise. What soon follows is a celebration of psychedelia. Even though psychedelic influences are found within all of the songs of Hymn To Pan, there are moments when they certainly take over completely. An example of that is “The Man Within”. Even though the song starts off with an imminent destructive stance, the band soon turn from the heavy riffs to essentially trippy sonic landscapes, showing their ability to combine their heavy side with their psychedelic nature in a brilliant manner. The album finishes with “Revelation: The Will To Nothingness”, a gigantic track, expanding for over twenty-three minutes, featuring an extremely saturated guitar sound and harsh vocals. The dystopian feeling is overflowing, creating a perfect background on top of which the band is allowed to experiment. Sonic experimentation and musical improvisation are leading the way, creating interesting, bizarre sounds that are coming left and right through the speakers, making “Revelation: The Will To Nothingness”, the absolute highlight of this release. Obelyskkh are seriously putting everything they got in order to make the closing track of this album a colossal sonic construct filled with heavy riffs, trippy effects and great grooves. What is great about Hymn To Life is that even though Obelyskkh are putting a lot of different elements in their songs and the duration of these songs is quite long, the album still manages to be quite easy to listen to. The songs remain catchy and the melodies that the band can come up with, stick with you. This is not an album that you will want to listen to just once. destructive-music/?p=10249
Posted on: Thu, 05 Sep 2013 16:20:43 +0000
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015